Hit the Road, Jack!
by Sara Nublas
Summary: A prompt provided by Nix1978: a day off, an accidental meeting, a sports car. Originally intended to be pure fluff the story got derailed into an intense chase. Action and Romance and sparkles! M&P centric.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N:** Initially this was supposed to be a fluffy random prompt provided by the awesome Nix1978 (A day off, an accidental meeting, a sports car), but inspiration is a sly minx and from a story packed with love and tenderness it turned into an action game at the crossroad between Criminal Minds, the Fast and the Furious and 24._

_Many, many thanks to__** Nix1978: **__ you're awesome, for a lot of reasons, and in this particular case, for prodding my fantasy and patiently beta'ing my drabbles! Thank you!_

_PLEASE R&R :)_

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><p>Emily and Reid walk down the deserted, dark bullpen and bid goodnight to the office that has become more familiar than their own houses over the last few years. Too many times they've been leaving the bureau when everybody else was long gone, but it's okay. They love their job and do it with commitment, but this doesn't annihilate the weariness of the body, that claims some sleeps after a three day long case. They're so tired they don't even speak to each other as they drag themselves down the silent corridor. Reid starts off with a funny anecdote, but his mouth gapes and closes without a sound as he spots out of the corner of his eye Emily's grumpy expression in return.<p>

They stop outside of one of the few offices with the lights still on; Morgan and Garcia are inside tiredly joking about her fluffy pen.

"Seriously baby girl, how do you even manage to write with that thing?" Morgan asks, amused.

"What do you mean?" she eyes him resentfully, "how do you dare criticize my impeccable style choices?"

Morgan leans forward, getting ready to explain how uncomfortable he thinks it is to write with a dolphin shaped pen, but then his mouth fells open and he raises his arms in defeat, "Forget it, babygirl" he chuckles with an exhausted grin on his face.

"Ok guys," the techie carries on, "we're all pretty beat. So I say, let's go to sleep and I'll see you tomorrow at mine for the barbeque."

"Oh, sleep. The magic word…" Emily sighs, leaning on the doorframe and longing for the moment when she'll doze off.

"Hey Garcia, are we covered with food and drinks?" Derek asks.

"Almost, Rossi is going to bring some of his creations, but maybe you and the sleeping beauty can stop at a grocery to get some more beer and chips…"

"Sure we can," Derek offers, passing by Penelope and kissing her head, "Emily, I'll pick you up at 10.30 and then we'll go to the store."

They're about to walk to the elevator when they all see Hotch, Rossi and JJ staring at the screen in the bullpen. The news is showing aerial footage of a chase on the highway in action-movie style. 'Two sports car thieves, riding two different stolen vehicles, a Porche and a Ferrari, upset the traffic in DC today, engaging a race on the away in the attempt to escape the police.' the reporter explains, 'After a thrilling chase the DCPD was able to catch one of the fugitives, whereas the second one vanished. Apparently these two men alone are responsible for a number of sports cars thefts over the last ten days.' Then the frame changes and the lead detective on the case appears, giving a press conference, 'Although Pete Bello is not a violent offender, he is a fugitive and shouldn't be underestimated. If you see him, don't try to engage any contact but call the police immediately.' He warns while a picture of Bello pops up on the screen.

"Nice ride," Morgan comments.

"And the Ferrari won," Rossi jokingly comments, "Italian car…"

"Come on Rossi, we both know it's not just the car, the driver makes the difference too," Morgan counters.

"You're right, infact Bello is an Italian surname." The older profiler smirks, causing the rest of the team to giggle and Morgan to roll his eyes in amusement.

They bid their good nights and head then, toward the deserved rest.

/

"Hey, do you want to remind me why during our day off we are getting up early to have a barbecue with the people we already see everyday, instead of just sleeping and… sleeping?" Emily greets Morgan grumpily as she gets in his car.

"Morning to you too, sunshine!" he chuckles, eyeing her from behind his sunglasses.

"Seriously, how can you be so cheerful and well rested after few hours of sleep and a tough case?" she argues.

"I'm not." He smiles, "I'm actually dead tired; but I'm also starving, and we're heading to Garcia's place, where Kevin has the grill ready and the television set on the sport channel…"

Emily's gaze turns immediately, an interrogative frown not promising any good drawing a line on her forehead, "Explain?"

"This afternoon the football is on, so while _you ladies_ have girls' chats, _us boys_ will sit on the couch in front of the screen and watch the match together…"

"So, _you guys_ have set this all up so that you could watch a bunch of cavemen getting muddy while they fight over a ball. I dragged myself out of bed for that?" Her tone gets slower and sharper by the second.

"Oh, come on Prentiss. Don't act like you've been the victim of a scam. It will be fun, just relax."

"Sure it will be. Once _you guys_ have explained to Garcia the reason for this barbecue, and she's hacked into the system and fried the cable tv. Oh, I do see a lot of fun in my future!" she snorts at Derek's dumbfounded expression.

The rest of the journey to the grocery store is spent with a cheerful and pleased Emily and a suddenly silent Morgan. Once they get to the shop, Emily goes ahead and can see, as she walks away, Derek unfolding the phone and calling the boys for a back up plan. She's still smiling inside when she enters the shop, and she doesn't notice the tense expression on the cashier, or the uncharacteristically stiff couple lining up at the counter, or the young mom with her six year old daughter wrapped around her hips. What she notices though, when she gets in front of the beers selection, is the reflection of the kid and the man in the mirror at the top of the corridor. Automatically her hand goes to her side, just to be disappointed by the absence of her holster.

**oOo**

"All right, my man. Will do that. I'll see you later." Derek settles as he hangs up the phone on Rossi, who assured he will find a leverage to soothe the ladies' rage so that their plan doesn't go awry. Morgan sighs reassured as he gets out of the car and heads toward the store; just before entering the shop he distractedly notices the car. Difficult not to draw the attention of a black Ferrari parked among all these old pick-ups and station wagons, even if parked in the distance. The news he watched the night before, pops up in his mind, but then he realizes only a stupid beginner wouldn't get rid of the car for a more inconspicuous ride. And two guys who steal so many cars undetected over a short time are not newbie's.

As he enters the store, he nods to the clerk behind the counter, who greets him back with a thin smile. Then he heads to the beer section where he finds Emily, staring intently at the bottles, "Hey, I get that you're pissed and you have your reasons," he starts, "but how about I promise I'll make it up to you?" he jokes, and as she turns toward him, he realizes immediately that there's something wrong. He doesn't have the time to ask what's the matter, because before he even opens his mouth, Emily has closed the distance and sealed his lips with a kiss. Her body pressing against his and her hands snaked around his neck; he barely has the chance to realize what's happening, let alone to react in someway. In a matter of seconds she has broken the kiss, her cheek lightly grazing his cheek and once her lips are close to his ear, she whispers two words, and of all the possible selection of sentences he would expect to hear now, this is the least likely, "Hostage situation."

His body stiffens a bit, he regains lucidity and awareness and at that point he wraps her waist in a tight hug, keeping up the charade, "Where?" he asks, pretending a kiss on her neck.

"Next aisle. Mirror." Derek lifts casually his gaze to see the reflection of a man crouched down on the floor and pointing a gun to the neck of a young boy, who can't be older than ten.

She whispers, something else to his ear and he can't help taking a step back, a deep frown on his forehead. They exchange a long look, "It's fine," she smiles, "now go and get your wallet, honey or we will never get to that barbecue."

He nods, and takes a step away, but he changes his mind and turns around, pulling her closer and kissing her. It's a possessive and a bit more passionate kiss that their act should require she thinks, but this is not the moment for such considerations.

Once the kiss is broken, they stare at each other for a second, confusion, curiosity and doubt filling their looks; then Derek walks away. He passes by the astonished clients and cashier, whose expression are more and more terrified by the second, he opens the door so that the door bell can tinkle, he closes it and he carefully keeps out of the armed man's visual. He then gestures the people few meters away from him to keep silent as he squats down to his ankle and pulls his gun.

"I'll handle the hostage", this is what Emily whispered to his ear after kissing him. That's what made him frown in disapproval; the idea of putting his unarmed partner in front of a criminal, who never killed anybody and is by now probably edgy, with an hostage. This is what she was reassuring him about, when she told him she would be fine. And when he kissed her back so vehemently he was warning her not to screw this up and to take care. This, the meaning of their newly coined secret code of communication, he thinks. But there's not time now to indulge in the feeling of her velvet lips, of her scent, or of her silky touch.

Emily pretends to go on searching the different brands of beers; then once she's out of the mirror's sight, she takes a deep breath and comes to face with the man. The kid is frozen with a mask of fear. The man is sweaty, edgy and his hand is shaking. Emily raises her hands and slows down her movements, "calm down. No panic. I just want to talk and to check how this little man's doing" she starts, "My name is Emily, what's your name buddy?" she asks the kid.

"Josh," the kids mutters with broken voice. All considering he's behaving very well, much better than his kidnapper.

"I'm Pete," the man introduces himself, with heavy panting, panic in his voice, "Look, I know what you think," he carries on.

"What do you think I think?" Emily tries to engage him so that he can relax a bit.

"That I'm a loser and probably an addict, a poor bastard who tried to rob a shop to get by. But it's not true; I've never done anything bad in my life! I'm a good person who ended up in a big trouble and now needs a way out."

"Pete, I believe you." Emily looks at the man's eyes widening at her words, "but right now you took a kid as hostage. To me this doesn't look like a good way to get out of the gutter… Why don't you let him go?"

"Sure," he chuckles in distress, "and then how do I get out of here?"

Morgan slowly checks the situation coming behind the man's shoulder and Emily lightly shakes her head; the man is already tense, he feels a trap and he might snap to an extreme solution.

Emily looks at the kid's begging eyes, then at the more and more tense man, and evaluates her options. When she decides, she knows that Derek is not going to like it, "Listen Pete, our friend Josh is really scared and would like to go back to his mommy and his sister. So why don't you let him go, while you and I go for a ride?"

Derek's and Pete's eyes widen simultaneously, "you are offering yourself as a hostage instead of the kid…" Pete begs to clarify.

"I am."

"Why?"

"Because this kid is scared as hell and you might want somebody to talk to before you screw it up completely."

Pete stares at her for a long moment, then he motions her to walk toward him. The moment Josh runs away, Emily finds a gun pointed to her temple.

He starts walking her toward the exit, and there he finds Derek with his gun drawn and no intention to let him go.

"Prince Charming is back," Pete nervously addresses him, "Look, I'm not going to do anything to your woman, I just want a way out of here. I drive her to the next petrol station and I drop her."

"Sorry man, but I can't let you go," Derek argues, Pete is about to answer when suddenly it's like hell broke loose. Gunshots coming from the parking lot send the glass window into pieces and oblige the profiler to jump on the side and crouch on the floor.

Taking advantage of the mess Pete runs away toward the back door, dragging Prentiss with him and getting to the parking lot where the car is.

He shoves her in the driving seat and keeps his gun pointed at her head, "Now drive!"

It takes several minutes before Pete stops turning frantically and checking if somebody is tailing them.

"Those were not friends of yours, right?" Prentiss asks when his breath had returned regular.

"What a brilliant deduction, Watson…" he bitterly answers.

"One might have thought they were trying to get you out of that shop, shooting at my colleague," she justifies, keeping her eyes on the road.

"Ah, your colleague. Nice trick you played in there."

"You were holding a kid as hostage, Pete."

"What are you then? Cops?"

"FBI, I work with the Behavioral Analysis Unit."

"Oh Great, Feds…" he whines on the verge of panic, "I kidnapped a fucking fed! This is the freaking cherry on the top of the pie!"

Emily studies his face for a second, then frowns "Sorry Pete, but I have to ask. Are you just a not very brilliant beginner or simply a very crappy criminal?"

The man looks at her dumbfounded, and then loosens up in a desperate laugh, "I guess more the first option. But I definitely reckon that this is not my best performance."

"Then why?" she asks, hoping she can establish some kind of communication with him.

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><p><em>So, what do you think? Should I go on?<em>


	2. Chapter 2

_First off, thanks a lot for the lovely reviews. They came absolutely unexpected and they were a beautiful surprise. I apologize for not answering to all of them, but it's being a crazy, busy time and as usual I struggle with too many projects and too short days... Anyway, here is the second part. Please R&R! :)_

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><p>"Are you sure you don't need a hospital?" Hotch asks Derek as he catches up wit the group, after being treated for the superficial cuts on his arm and shoulder.<p>

"I'm fine," the profiler reassures; then spotting the skeptical expressions on his colleagues' faces, he clarifies, "extremely pissed off and worried, but other than that, I'm fine."

"Ok, then," Hotch gathers the attention of the group, "this is Detective Hutchins. He gave us green light to help with the case and was about to brief us on Pete Bello."

The detective nods to the profilers and starts, "unfortunately there's not much I can offer on this guy. He's a mystery."

"What do you mean?" Rossi asks.

"Until a few days ago, as far as we know, he was as pure as snow. He majored with good grades, opened a garage with his pal McKanzie, the one we caught yesterday, and then all of a sudden, ten days ago they both went on a Grand Theft Auto Spree. Twenty cars in ten days. All sports cars. All vanished. In all thefts the same MO was used.

"How did you catch them?" Reid asks.

"The truth? I would love to say it was fine investigative work, but honestly we were lucky. They crossed a red traffic light and a police car chased them. After that we joined the ride."

"Were they so good that you couldn't catch them before?" Reid questions further.

"Just well informed, someone tipped them off about the position of the cars and when it would have been best to steal them. But honestly they are the worst thieves I've ever seen…"

"Then what's the story with them? And who are the people who shot at us before?" Derek jumps in.

**oOo**

"I'm the quiet guy. The one who never skips classes, plays by the rules, and dreams about a honest life with his girl and a bunch of kids running around the house…" Bello starts, edginess in his trembling voice.

"So, how does turning into a car thief and kidnapper fits with that project?" Emily asks glancing at him.

"It doesn't. Two years ago I opened a garage with my pal McKanzie; we tried our best, made sacrifices, invested money… But no matter how hard we worked, the expenses were always higher than the income. Before we even knew it, we were drowning in debts. One day, two guys show up at the office and say it's time to pay back."

"Did you borrow money from some loan shark?"

"Look. I fix engines and do the heavy works. McKanzie takes care of the investments and the money. He's the smart guy," he sighs anxiously.

"Well, not so smart apparently," Emily points out.

"Yeah, anyway what's done is done and we can't go back." Pete hisses out bitterly.

"How did they ask you to pay back the loan?"

"Twenty cars in ten days, all the details were provided in order to do a clean job. We were not too enthusiastic, but it was this or ending in the bottom of a ditch. And it's not like we were stealing from poor people!" He snaps out with rage, as if trying to find an excuse, "Those cars are like candies for their owners. So we thought if we could get away with this one time thing, then we would turn the page and have a fresh start."

Emily eyes him and waits for a second until he calms down; then shaking her head hopelessly she comments, "Pete, do you really think that once you get involved with guys like those, then you can quit whenever you want, without consequences?" She is genuinely dumbfounded by how naïve this guy is, she hasn't decided yet whether he's just a candid mind or a complete idiot.

"It was our last couple, when McKanzie decided to drive through the red light. He was late for his wife's birthday," his tone gets dejected, "Unbelievable. busted for a red light."

"That's when you decided to enter a shop with a gun and kidnap an agent… Just to be sure that when you get caught -because you'll get caught eventually- it's for something big." She can't help the sarcasm.

"No." he shouts back, punching the glove box, "I was about to turn myself in, when they called me and said that if I didn't bring them the car they would kill my girlfriend," he claims on the verge of tears.

Emily shakes her head, now understanding the reason for this reckless behavior and realizing that it's going to be a very, very long day.

**oOo**

"So, honest and obviously not very smart people, end up asking money from organized criminals. When these people don't pay back, they get either drained to the last penny or, if they have any ability that is of interest to the organization, they get employed for a one time off job," Rossi tries to make the point of the situation, "they think they can get away with it, but once the job is done they are either sold to the police as cannon fodder or killed, if they know too much."

"Yes. That's how this group usually operates. They prepare the target, find some poor bastard to use as pawns and then they vanish," the detective explains, "We've been following their tracks for two years and we never get close."

"Does their business pertain only to cars?" Reid asks.

"Cars, drugs, human trafficking, whatever the can get their hands on…" Hutchinson explains.

"What I don't understand is why they didn't get the car already yesterday?" Morgan asks, "they could have taken the car and got away. Instead they took the risk to shoot at as and they relied on the fact that Bello, once out, would have brought the car to them."

"Then they must have some kind of insurance," JJ suggests.

"Does Bello have some family around here?" Hotch asks Hutchins.

"His fiancé, they live and work together. Why?"

Hotch doesn't answer, but grabs his phone.

"Tell me Emily's with you, sir.." Garcia answers immediately, on the verge of tears.

"We are working on that, Garcia. I need you to find the details of Pete Bello's girlfriend. Send some agents to check on her and bring her in for questioning," he instructs.

"Consider it done… And sir?" she asks after a moment of hesitation "you'll bring her home safe, right?"

"We'll do our best, Penelope," Hotch promises, with a seemingly detached tone.

"So, if they have his girlfriend, there's no way to talk him down," Morgan sighs nervously rubbing a hand against his head, "He's going to finish his mission, whatever it takes, in order to save her."

Hotch looks at him intently for a second, "Morgan, a word please?" he summons him aside from the group.

Morgan takes some steps away from the crowd and looks searchingly at his Unit Chief, who's obviously ill at ease about something, "What's wrong, Hotch?" he asks in confusion.

When Hotch finally gathers the words, there's an odd grin of embarrassment on his face, "I had Garcia going through the footage of the store," he starts and takes a pause, staring at Morgan's clueless face, "Is there something I should be aware of, Morgan?" he lowers his voice, his patience feebly wearing off.

"Hotch, what are you talking about?" Morgan responds slightly irritated by this secretive demeanor.

"You and Prentiss… kissing…repeatedly…" Hotch's eyebrow arches more and more at every new detail he discloses.

All of a sudden the whole scene comes back to Morgan. If the moment of the kiss wasn't awkward enough, knowing that his team and probably half a dozen techs went through it several times, doesn't help the situation, "Hotch, she didn't have any other way to inform me about the situation without raising suspicions… There's nothing you should be informed about, because there's nothing between us."

Hotch shoots a skeptical glance at Morgan, but then he resolves that he doesn't want to know more, specially given the situation, "I'm glad to hear that, because it means I don't have to pull you off the case," he concludes and returns to the group.

In that exact moment Morgan's cell starts ringing and Prentiss' name pops up on the screen, "Emily?"

Hotch pulls his phone and dials immediately Garcia, requesting a GPS location on Emily's phone.

"You ok?" Morgan asks, putting her in loudspeaker.

"I'm fine. How are you? I saw you on the ground, but Bello was dragging me away."

"I'm fine, just some scratches." Morgan reassures her.

"Emily, we're all here. Can you tell us where you are?" Rossi intervenes.

On the other side of the line, Emily sighs in relief at the news that her partner is fine and that all the team is on the case, "We stopped at a gas station. He's keeping on sideways, at least he got this right. He's taking the car to…"

"Yeah, we know the story. Bad investment with organized crime…" Reid clarifies.

"Exactly, they have his girlfriend as leverage," Prentiss informs.

"Agent Prentiss. This is Detective Hutchins, I'm leading the investigation," the detective butts in, "how could you get a hold of your phone?" he asks.

"He never took it away from me. Guys, this man is one of the most fussy and incompetent criminals I've ever seen. I wonder how he didn't get killed before."

"Where is he now?" JJ asks.

"In the toilet," by the silence she gets in reply, Emily can guess the dumbfounded looks her colleagues are exchanging right now. If they weren't her friends and teammates, she wouldn't be surprised of being enlisted as a suspect accomplice, "Guys… I know that it would be easier to bust him now, but if I don't try to talk him out of this situation, he'll get himself killed…"

On the other side Morgan opens his mouth to reproach her, to tell her she's being nonsensical and there's no reason to always play hero. But by the time he's ready to voice his thought, the awareness that he would do exactly the same if he were in her shoes, silences him; as it has silenced all the other agents on the line.

Right now Emily is the only hope to stop this criminals and to save Bello and his girlfriend by certain death.

"Hey, he's coming back" she whispers hurriedly "I'll keep you on," she promises, as she haphazardly hides the phone in her jacket and starts the engine.

**oOo**

"So where are we going?" she asks, once Pete gets back in the car.

"To hand in the car and to get Jenny back." He answers again nervous.

"Jenny… I assume she's your girlfriend…"

"Just shut up and do what I say," he shakily shushes her.

Prentiss swallows and complies; the bad feeling that something is wrong creeping up on her. For a while they drive in silence. The guy must be beginning to realize the kind of trouble he got himself into, and he's freaking out.

"So how did you two meet?" She tries to distract him.

"Me and Jenny? Uhm… in high school; we graduated and decided to start a family together. She works at the garage with me, handling the clients appointments."

Emily rolls her eyes. High school sweethearts, working together, living together… how original, "So together at home and at work, eh?" she tries to keep up the conversation, hiding her sarcasm.

"Yes. Some people might think it's not a good idea, and of course there are pros and cons; but you already know that, don't you?"

Emily gazes at him with an interrogative look.

"Come on, I saw you and your colleague. That kiss was hot." He grins back, and for a moment Emily almost loses control of the car.

"Woohoo! Do you want to get us killed?" he shouts, gripping the handle with one hand and the safety belt with the other. Just then Emily notices he's not pointing his gun at her anymore.

"Sorry…" She mutters as she regains control of the vehicle; then she clarifies, "We're not a couple, by the way."

"Look, I'm not gonna tell anybody, if this is what you're worried about. I'm just saying there was some steam in those kisses…" he cares to make the point.

On the other side of the phone five pair of eyes are desperately trying to dodge Morgan's gaze, while Rossi and JJ can't help an amused smirk. Morgan, instead, has simply given up any attempt to explain.

"We're just colleagues and very good friends," Emily tries to silence Pete, while she feels her cheeks burning.

"When he tried to stop me, it didn't seem you two were just friends," Pete insists, as Emily fights the sudden desire to punch him.

"He's a very dear friend and an extremely brave man. He wouldn't hesitate to put his life on the line for his family and his ideals, and I have undying respect for him." She points out.

"Okay, okay. You sure know him better than I do," he mutters unconvinced, "but today he was ready to die for you; not the kid, not the cashier or anyone else in the store. Just you."

Emily rolls her eyes. She's always hated stubborn, nosey people; the worst combination possible, "Yes he was," she replies hastily, "and yes we kissed. And it was an incredibly good kiss, and probably in other circumstances I would gladly date a guy like him, but we are colleagues; so romance is out of the picture. Is that enough, doctor Phil?" she eyes him, annoyed.

"Oh, Well, that's another story then," Pete carries on, fueled by Emily's admission, "Until two minutes ago it was no; now it's maybe; maybe tomorrow it will be yes," he grins and Emily can't help clutching the steering wheel as a reaction to his cheap psychology lecture.

"Pete, you might not see tomorrow if you don't stop sticking your nose in my personal life…" she cuts him with an ice look.

"Sorry… message received," He goes all quiet, "I was just hoping you would confront your evidently contrasted feelings. But I'll stay out of it. Promised," he assures with an abashed look.

Derek is too busy staring at the phone to mind the questioning looks from all around. All what Emily said about them potentially dating under different circumstances is not a foreign thought at all. He juggled with the idea several times, and he always shoved it back to where it came from. But to hear her voicing the same considerations, it's all a different story. The memory of that kiss, of how eager he was to pay her back, of how good it felt to have her in his arms, burns him. And he knows this thought is not helping his focus on the case. He knows that they crossed a line and this must never happen again.

Pete's voice coming again on the phone interrupts his thoughts, "Then I would understand him anyway. You'd do anything for the one you love…" He says shakily.

"Pete, again with this story…" Emily hisses back, but something makes her annoyance fade away.

"So much that you would even involve innocent people," he carries on, sorrow in his voice.

"Pete, what did you do?" Emily's voice is suddenly calm.

"You know, these people have a huge business. They deal with cars and other things I don't even want to know about…"

"Pete?" Emily's tone gets softer and tense.

"The car wasn't enough, so we agreed to make an exchange: you for my girlfriend."

Then for a moment it all freezes. On both sides of the phone line.

It's Emily's voice that comes back after a few seconds, "Pete, do you still believe that we'll walk out of that exchange alive?"

"I will, and Jenny as well…"

"You know names, faces, modus operandi. Dear god, Pete! How can you be so stupid?" she tries to convince him and there's no rage in her voice, just sheer honesty.

"Garcia, do we have Emily's position?" Hotch asks the tech, whose voice comes right back from the other side of the line, "Since the very first moment she made the call, sir."

"Ok. Morgan and Rossi, you drive closer to them, but keep at a distance. If the situation doesn't change and Emily doesn't manage to get names and locations from him, you stop that car and get her out. Clear?" The he turns to the lead detective, "I understand you've been chasing these guys for a long time, but I'm not going to risk my agent's life."

"I know. I appreciate the help and your honesty, Agent Hotchner," Hutchins nods and walks away to brief his men.

**oOo**

"So, how come you haven't asked me anything yet, Rossi?" Morgan addresses the profiler once they're heading closer to Emily's position.

"What do you mean?" the older profiler plays dumb.

"Come on, I saw people's expressions at that footage and at Emily's words. I was expecting you to give me a lecture as usual," Morgan pushes.

"Morgan, I've been married three times and I know something about relationships and attraction. If I told you my opinion, you probably wouldn't like it, so I'll keep it to myself," he calmly explains, looking intently out of the window.

"Try me," Derek urges, a mixture of curiosity and irritation brewing in his voice. He hates being schooled by Rossi, at least as much as he hates that most of the times he's right.

"I don't think you're ready for this kind of conversation, Derek." The older profiler simply states, and in this voice there's no mocking inflexion, just pure friendship.

"Maybe not, but I value your opinion and I would like to hear it anyway."

Rossi finally turns his gaze to his colleague and friend, and looks at him in silence for a long moment, then he lets out a deep sigh and speaks: "I've seen a lot of kisses, Derek. And I can assure you that in that store, you and Emily weren't playing pretend. Maybe you can't see it right now, but the story about you two being just good friends and not wanting to cross that line, is just bullshit. You're lying to yourselves, which at times it's pretty entertaining from the outside…" he comments with a smirk, "but sooner or later you'll have to stop hiding and deal with your feelings."

Derek looks at him and then at the road again. As he shrugs, he shoves his thoughts behind his sunglasses, sliding into an indecipherable silence. His feelings for Emily right now are the last of his priorities. They have to be. He cannot afford being distracted by his own emotions; if they don't manage to locate this organization, Pete's girlfriend might be killed, and if they let them walk into the exchange Emily is dead.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks a lot to all those who reviewed and alerted the previous chapters! Here is the last part of this story; for those who are patiently waiting for an update to 'Red Riding Hood', please be patient a little bit more, I'm working on it :) _

_Thanks to Nix1978 for beta'ing.  
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_Please R&R!_

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><p>Derek stares at the headlines of the newspapers in the dedicated section of the store he's in. Similar titles are crowding in capital letters several mastheads, <em>FBI <em>_and __local__ PD __cooperate __successfully__ to__ stop__ a __criminal __operation; __Car __thief __loses__ freedom __and__ love __all __in __one __day;__Fast__ and__ furious __race __death__ toll__ raises __to__ three..._ He shakes his head, thinking he will never get used to how media twist reality in order to get the scoop. Eventually he resolves to head to the cashier, pay and leave.

Once back in his car, he winces as pain lashes through his shoulder; the bandage covering the entrance point of the bullet is an unwanted reminder of the day they almost got killed.

He stares at the void pensively, thinking back at how the events slipped out of his hands, at what he missed, what he could have done differently, just to end up clueless, another time.

He has relived those hours countless times now, went through the reports, the timeline, the recorded conversations between Emily and Pete, relentlessly looking for the turning point in which their plan went awry, for the cue he missed.

He still feels the blood freezing in his veins when he remembers Pete explaining to Emily how McKanzie met those loan sharks; a former client Jenny kept in touch with, who knew someone, who in turn knew someone else who had money, and so on. When they first made the connection, Rossi and Morgan exchanged a look, and realized they had it all wrong. Pete was the victim of a scam and Jenny the link who made this all possible.

Morgan can still feel the deathly silence that filled the line, when realization dawned upon Emily, when Pete started crashing and letting out details he shouldn't mention or contradicting his previous version of facts.

They all knew immediately what that meant: Pete was no more a reliable source, but a potentially loose cannon, and he would have rather endangered Emily's life, than acknowledged the truth.

**oOo**

"So, how's your head?" Rossi asks grabbing one of the cups of coffee Emily just bought at the kiosk near the park. The temperature is starting to get colder and the first sign of autumn is painting the trees of gold and crimson; kids are returning to school and people take advantage of every sunny spell to enjoy the last pleasant outdoor moments of the year.

Emily takes in the chilly breeze with a deep breath, "It's getting better," she answers looking at a bunch of children playing cops and thieves and running around a huge tree.

"Sometimes I wish it was so simple," she comments, looking at Rossi, "they run, we follow, we catch them, nobody gets hurt."

"What about the nightmares?" Rossi inquires again, not fooled by her attempt at diverting his attention elsewhere.

"Come on, Rossi," she snorts, "It's not like I've never killed someone on the job."

"No, but this time you had built a relationship, it's not that easy to distance yourself in those kind of situations," he calmly points out.

Emily stares at her coffee in a moment silence, "Pete was a quiet guy. He just wanted to be happy and stay out of trouble. And look where this got him. He was convinced he was breaking the law to save his girlfriend's life and turns out he was her pawn," she bitterly explains as she remembers the pain and the hurt on Pete's face.

"I should have realized it before," Emily finally admits, "when she called him and gave him the rendezvous point…"

"Oh, Emily, now. How were you supposed to know?"

"A bridge is not a place to exchange a hostage, it's a hit and go spot. I should have known it…"

"And then? What could you do? There was no way to stop Bello in time or to convince him that his girlfriend had put him in that trouble and wanted to finish him off so as not to have witnesses on the loose."

Emily looks at him, unconvinced. Guilt all over her face.

"Emily, Pete is not the victim here. He was presented with a choice and he freely decided to take the bet. Then, instead of asking help from the police, he went on a personal crusade and almost got himself and three federal agents killed."

"I don't know Rossi… I see your point. But I also think that sometimes we see only what we want to see and we carefully avoid the inconvenient parts of the picture." She resolves staring at the horizon.

Rossi smirks, "And we're still talking about Pete here, right?"

**oOo**

"So, Bello's girlfriend was working for the criminal cartel. She procured the money for her fiancé and his partner when the garage was on the verge of failure; then she provided them as skilled labour when the cartel needed the favor back. Initially it all went good, until McKanzie, Bello's partner, was caught by the police. To push Bello not to lose focus, his girlfriend came up with the kidnapping story, so that Bello would finish the job at any cost…" Strauss makes the point of the situation.

"Exactly, Ma'am," JJ confirms from across the desk.

"Mmmmh," the section chief curls her lips and silently muses over something for a few seconds, "but then, why didn't they just kill Bello at the store, when he took Agent Prentiss?"

"We believe they tried to do so, but they failed," Hotch, seated beside JJ, explains, "and when he told them he had a hostage, they decided to take the matter in their own hands and to eliminate both of them, to be sure that there would be no witness alive."

"Ok, I get it." Strauss eventually settles, "Well, the Washington PD thanks us for the co-operation. You handled the situation very well, considering that one of your own was involved." She admits.

Hotch and JJ exchange bewildered looks and then get up from their seats leaving the chief's office in astonished silence.

"Strauss shielding and complimenting us, that's new," JJ sarcastically comments out of his office.

"It's good publicity for her and for the bureau, of course she's grateful…" Hotch answers without a frown, "and as a reward we get two days off…"

"How are you going to spend them?" JJ asks.

"The same way as you, I imagine; mostly with family and then there's still that barbecue at Garcia's, right?" he hints a smile.

"Yes, there is. It's been a long time since I had two full days with Will and Henry," she affirms satisfied, "I'll see you at Penelope's."

"JJ, wait," he calls her back, "I really appreciate the way you handled the situation with the tape at the store. If the reporters had found it, they would have made a huge deal out of that kiss, and I promise Strauss wouldn't be so agreeable right now…"

"Tape? Kiss? I don't know what you're talking about…" she addresses him with a mocking wink, before walking away.

**oOo**

Derek stops the engine, and hesitates to get out of the car. When his phone rings, he chuckles at the ID, "Hi baby girl, if you go on calling me so often Kevin will be jealous," he greets Penelope.

"Ah, ah, funny" she responds curtly, "this is what you get for making me lose ten years of life. Do you have any idea of how I felt when I heard all those gunshots on the phone and nobody answering me?"

Derek takes a deep breath, "Penelope, we couldn't do it differently. They had Bello and Emily on that bridge, and were ready to shoot her. We had to back them up…"

"You mean, you had to back them up. Because you took a bullet!"

"I took a bullet, Rossi a concussion and Emily almost got shot in the head… I assure you I'm not the hero today, so if you want to take it out on someone, call the brunette with the hard head."

"I would," Penelope answers maliciously, "but then I thought you will be giving her the sermon anyway and besides, I don't want to interrupt while you two are making out."

Derek thanks god his car is parked, otherwise, if he was driving, he would have probably hit a tree by now, "Baby girl! Way out of line," he reproaches, struggling to keep serious after all the jokes he's been put through by the techie over the past few days.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I couldn't help it. I just think you two were so cute in that footage, when you were kissing…"

"Penelope, I'm gonna hang up now. Take that grin off your face and don't think we're done with this conversation," he warns her in his husky voice, "we seriously have to have a chat about boundaries. Understood?"

"Oh, beautiful, tell me about that after you leave Emily's house… " she carries on flirtatiously, and as Derek closes the conversation he can still hear her going on with the bantering.

**oOo**

When Emily opens the door, Derek can't help noticing the shadows under her eyes, "Bad dreams?" he greets her.

"Oh, please. Not you too," she tiredly pleads.

"Okay," Derek walks with nonchalance across her apartment, as she leads the way to the sofa. The pile of newspapers haphazardly thrown in the trash bin, the reports of the Washington PD stashed on her coffee table and the empty cups of coffee filling the kitchen sink, give him a hunch of how she's been spending her nights.

"So, I heard that you were questioned by the defense attorney and will have to testify at the process," he starts, sitting in front of her.

"Yes… Not that I didn't expect it, but I would like to get this over with as soon as possible," she mutters running a hand through her air, an unusual gesture that doesn't escape his notice. Proof of how exhausted and exasperated she is.

"Emily, you did your job and saved Pete's life. You should be proud of yourself," he attempts to convince her.

"You tell him. When I looked at him I saw just hatred and loathing. No matter what I say or do, I'm the woman who shot him and killed his lover."

"Well, his love was about to shoot him dead," Derek objects.

"I know. But I don't think he will ever admit it to himself. As painful as it is, he prefers to live in the false idea that Jenny was a delicate flower and that I killed an innocent woman," she sighs, "Rossi says that I shouldn't blame myself, that he made a decision, but I can't help thinking that I could have protected him…"

"Protect him? Emily the guy took you hostage, pointed a gun at you, he was ready to sell you to a criminal cartel in order to have his psycho girlfriend back, and you think you should have protected him?" Derek is baffled and clueless at her piece of reasoning.

"I was there, Derek," Emily has played those moments over and over in her mind.

Jenny calling and changing the terms of the deal, setting a new meeting point, the pieces of the puzzle coming together and Pete refusing to believe that his girlfriend is not being held captive.

Even when they came in proximity to the car, and saw the three guys and Jenny, looking nothing like a hostage. Then hell breaks lose. Jenny points a gun at Emily and she's about to pull the trigger, when Morgan, with perfect timing, drives his car against theirs. As she engages the fight with Jenny, the other three guys open fire against Morgan and Rossi.

She rolls on the ground with Jenny, and finally regains the upper hand in a tug of war for the gun. Then the gunshot and Emily finds herself pinning Jenny's lifeless body on the ground. She doesn't have choice but to shoot Pete when he points his gun at her screaming for his lover.

In a few second it's all quiet and silent. Morgan has been hit in his shoulder, Rossi has a bad head wound and Pete is whining on the ground. All is over, the good won, the bad went to jail. Then why doesn't she feel any better? Why can't she shove this one case in a far corner as she always does? She faced far worse situations, but now she feels distraught.

"We are used to this, Derek," she eventually explains, "we see evil everyday, we know that the worst monsters can hide behind the quietest of man, the best neighbour, or the most loving fathers and husbands. There's no corner that is actually safe from depravity."

Derek looks at her intently, he starts to understand where she's heading.

"Pete was a quiet guy, with a simple dream. He believed in the good in people and wished for a normal, decent life. He didn't know how to protect himself from the ugliness we see everyday, we are so used to it that we don't even flinch anymore. We are so busy fighting it, that we forget that there are others spending their lives oblivious to this darkness and being fine with that."

"Emily, I get you. I really do. But as much as we try, we can't shield people from evil. Bad things happen, and we can't avoid them. Nonetheless, at the end of the day there's still some good on the balance. McKanzie and his wife are still together, and they still care about Pete. The criminal organization has been stopped. We're all safe, and ready for another barbecue..."

Emily shots him a death glare and can't stop chuckle at his grin, "See? There still a good reason to smile," he leans in with a satisfied expression.

Emily bites her lip, searching for the words, then she slowly starts, "JJ told me she managed to keep the footage of the store away from the newspapers…"

Derek nods, his face getting serious.

"I'm really sorry for all that hype," Emily apologetically raises her hands, just to return picking at her fingers nervously, a moment later, "I imagine all the embarrassing and questioning looks you went through, while I was having that conversation with Pete.." she chuckles awkwardly.

Derek stares at her, a look of disappointment on his face, "Wow. To be a profiler, you should know better than this," he retorts accusingly.

"What do you mean?" Emily turns defensive, baffled at his curt reaction.

"I mean that to be such a naïve guy, Pete could still see what you so stubbornly keep avoiding," he bitterly argues, standing on his feet and walking toward the door.

Emily looks at him dumbfounded, "No, wait. You spit venom at me and then you take off without even explaining?"

"Emily, what is there to explain? How can I break it down for you?" he angrily argues back.

"Morgan, I get it you're upset because of all the questions and jokes you received after that tape and that conversation, but I…"

"Emily." He halts her with a hand raised, frustration consuming his look, " you can face the most dangerous criminals without even flinching, but when it comes to face your feeling, your ability to deny the obvious is pathetic. And unnerving!"

Emily gapes, but no sound escapes her mouth.

"That night Hotch asked me what was going on with that kiss. I lied to him. I told him that there was no other way for you to let me know what was going on. But the truth is you could have easily found another way. Instead you kissed me," he take a pause, his nostrils flaring; Emily is staring at him wide eyed, helpless and overwhelmed, "I know why I kissed you back, Emily. Maybe you should ask yourself why you made that choice," he stares at her, while she silently keeps dodging his gaze, until he relinquishes and heads for the door.

"Because I wanted to," her words halt him, his hand clutching the handle, "Don't ask me why, or why I chose that moment. I guess I have a very bad timing for that…"

Derek turns around, "you kissed me and you ran. And then not a word about that for days."

"Technically I didn't run; I was taken away. And for the record you kissed me too."

"I remember it…" he closes the distance.

"And I may be pathetic, but you're impulsive and opinionated…" she vehemently makes the point as she takes a step closer.

"You're stubborn and reckless," he reciprocates as his hand travels up to the small of her back.

"It'll never work," she whispers, resting her hands on the nape of his neck.

"Probably it won't," he confirms just before joining his lips to hers.

She deepens the kiss, rising on the tip of her toes, "I guess we're gonna be late for the barbecue," she whispers on his lips once broken the kiss.

"I guess we will," he smiles back, holding her tight.

**oOo**

"Morgan must have left his phone somewhere or his battery is dead, I've been tried to call him ten times at least.." Reid whines with the rest of the group as they're all set to put the food on the grill.

"Emily's phone goes straight to voicemail," JJ adds, trying to keep her indifferent face, in response she gets a satisfied grin from Rossi and a squeal from Garcia.

"Well, they must be stuck in traffic. I'd say let's start and they'll catch up with us later," Hotch resolves, feigning nonchalance.

"But…," Reid tries to object, oblivious to the exchange of looks between his colleagues.

"Reid," Hotch stops him grabbing a handful of chips, "unless they have been involved in another robbery, I don't need to know anything…" then he heads to the grill with a tray of marinated stakes, followed by Rossi.

The older profilers looks at him with a poker face, and all Hotch can say in a suffocated laugh is, "just friends, my …"


End file.
